Puppy Socialization Tips

* Take your pup to shopping centers, parks, school playgrounds, etc; places where there are crowds of people and plenty of activity.

* Take your puppy for short and frequent rides in the car and let your puppy watch the world go by through the window.

* Introduce your puppy to umbrellas, bags, boxes, the vacuum cleaner, different floorings, etc. Encourage your puppy to explore and investigate his environment.

* Get your puppy accustomed to seeing different and unfamiliar objects by creating your own. Set a chair upside down. Lay the trash can (empty) on its side, set up the ironing board right-side up one day and upside down the next day.

* Introduce your puppy to new and various sounds. Particularly loud or obnoxious noises should be introduced from a distance and gradually brought closer.

* Accustom your puppy to being brushed, bathed, inspected, having its nails clipped, teeth and ears cleaned and all the routines of grooming and physical examination. Your puppy should allow you to hold him on his back.

* Introduce your puppy to stairs. Introduce anything and everything you want your puppy to be comfortable with and around.

Socialization Don'ts

* Do not put your puppy on the ground where unknown animals have access. This is where your puppy can pick up diseases. Wait until your puppy's shots are completed. Do not let your pup socialize with dogs that appear sick or dogs that you don't know, that may not be vaccinated.

* Do not reward fearful behavior. In a well meaning attempt to sooth, encourage or calm the puppy when it appears frightened, we often unintentionally reward the behavior. It's normal for the puppy to show some signs of apprehension when confronting anything new and different.

* Do not allow the experience to be harmful, painful or excessively frightening. This can cause lifetime phobias in your dog.

* Do not force or rush your puppy. Let your puppy take things at his own pace. Your job is to provide the opportunity.

* Do not do too much at one time. Young puppies need a lot of sleep and tire quickly. It is much more productive to have frequent and very brief exposures than occasional prolonged exposures.

* DO NOT WAIT!! Every day that goes by is an opportunity of a lifetime that is lost forever. You can never get these days back. If socialization does not happen now, it never will.